Banff & the Rocky Mountaineer
First Passage to the West
In May 2017 we were lucky enough to travel on the Rocky Mountaineer "First Passage to the West" tour. The tour started in Banff followed by the train journey from Lake Louise to Vancouver.
Below is a map of the journey:
Rocky Mountaineer First Passage to the West Map
We flew from Brisbane to Calgary and stayed overnight at the Ramada Plaza Calgary Downtown hotel. It was a comfortable place to stay. It was about 3 blocks from the restaurant / shopping district and the bed was comfortable after the long flight! We were tired by the time we arrived, but felt that we should keep active until later in the day so that our body clocks could adjust. So we decided to head out for a bite to eat at about 3pm. We found a great place called the Cactus Club Café. After a few refreshments & some food we headed back to the hotel and promptly fell asleep.
Banff
The following day we caught the Banff Airporter from Calgary airport to Banff. The bus takes about 1.5 to 2 hours & drops off at a few popular places in Banff. It took us directly to the Fairmont Banff Springs where we met our tour leader before settling in for 2 nights of luxury!
Fairmont Banff Springs © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
The view from our room was pretty fantastic!
The View from our Room in Banff © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Sadly I came down with a shocking cold & sore throat that laid me up on the first day of the tour & caused me to miss a helicopter ride over the mountains that surround Banff. Thankfully it didn't take hold the way it did for some other folks on the tour and I was up & about that afternoon. This place was too good to miss! We found the Waldhaus just down the hill from the hotel that served great pub fare & after a glass or two of prosecco I was feeling fine!
The Waldhaus Banff © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
After a relaxing couple of days our tour started in earnest, with suitcases having to be outside the room by 7:30am before "bums in seats" at 9am for the journey to Lake Louise! This was to be one of the "kinder" departure times on the tour!
On our way to Lake Louise we stopped for a gondola ride up to the summit of Sulphur Mountain. This provided yet more photo opportunities!
Sulphur Mountain Gondola © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
View from Sulphur Mountain summit © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Cosmic Ray Station/Old Weather Station at Sulphur Mountain peak © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Lake Louise
We arrived at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise around 12:30pm. The hotel's check in time wasn't until 4:00pm! This was disappointing, given that we were only staying overnight & had been up quite early! I think we all would have appreciated being able to have a bit of rest & unwind in our rooms. So after a bite to eat we headed out for a walk on the frozen "lake" & to take some photos.
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Ice & snow at Lake Louise © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
This was the view we got to enjoy after we finally got into our room!
View from our room at Lake Louise © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Whilst the ice-covered view of the Lake is spectacular I had been hoping that we would see it like this:
Lake Louise - pic by tpsdave @ pixabay.com
But it was not to be. No bears, no moose, no water! We were "too early in the season" for all of these things!! It was something we heard many times during this tour! However, we would not have seen the frozen lake & the snow had we come later!
The next morning our bags had to be outside our room at 6:55am with "bums in seats" at 8:25am for the short drive to the station to board the Rocky Mountaineer. I wish someone had told us that we didn't need to eat breakfast as we were taken to the dining room on the train soon after embarkation!
Rocky Mountaineer
Boarding the train was easy and we were soon underway!
We travelled Goldleaf which includes the domed glass-roof upstairs, providing amazing views along the way, and a dedicated dining room downstairs serving gourmet breakfast & lunch. This differs to Silverleaf which is a single level carriage with meals served to your seat. Our service attendants were Jeremy & Tana upstairs & Rachel & Anni downstairs.
Silverleaf carriages on the Rocky Mountaineer © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Goldleaf dome carriages on the Rocky Mountaineer © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Fine fare in the dining room on the Rocky Mountaineer © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
It was an enjoyable train journey through the Rockies watching the world go by & getting to know our travelling companions who were on the same tour as us. There wasn't really that much to do except sit back & relax, besides eat & drink - and there was plenty of that! The first day of the journey takes about 12 hours. Below are some pictures of the changing landscape.
Snow covered peaks from the Rocky Mountaineer © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Overlooking the Rocky Mountaineer © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Sweeping river beds from the Rocky Mountaineer © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Kamloops
We stayed overnight at the Sandman Signature Hotel in Kamloops. It was very comfortable and directly across the road from Riverside Park near the junction of the North & South Thompson River. It was nice to be able to go for a walk, stretch the legs, and clear the mind.
Kamloops Signature Hotel © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
North Thompson River - Kamloops © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Riverside Park -Kamloops © Holidays Beckon Pty Ltd
Towards Vancouver
The next morning we were up early again - I'm thinking around 7am? This time we had to leave our bags in the room as we made our way down to the bus. A whole lot of buses converged on the car park at the train station at the same time, making me think that the whole process was going to take hours - but it was very well organised with the bus dropping us directly at the door to our carriage & the train headed off soon after!
We had a lovely breakfast before settling in for the rest of the trip to Vancouver. It was another 12+ hour day. By the time we arrived in Vancouver I think we all felt that we had experienced enough of train travel for a while! Not that it wasn't lovely & well worth doing! Thanks to our attendants who helped make the journey fun & educational!
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